The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method of rinsing plastics material containers. In the sector of the beverage production industry widely varying methods are known which are employed to clean and, in particular, to rinse plastics material containers. In this case, in particular, plastic bottles, i.e. for example PET bottles, plastics material sheets or plastics material closures, have the special feature that they are electrostatically charged by friction. This charging leads to particles of dust and also for example residues of Styropor or cardboard packaging from the bottles, plastics material closures and so on being attracted and remaining adhering. These particles cannot be removed even by slight shaking and/or blowing with untreated air.
Methods are therefore known from the prior art in which these plastics material containers are acted upon with ionized air in order to compensate this charging so as to be able to remove particles more easily from the plastics material containers in this way. It is thus possible for example for air produced by a compressor to be supplied by way of a sterile air filter to a rinser by way of a valve cluster and after that to a rotary media distributor and a media duct of a corresponding rinsing nozzle. After that, the air can pass by way of a bracket support to the ionization units. This procedure, however, does not allow rinsing of the bottles with liquids and ionized air, since short circuits in the electronics can occur in the event of the liquid coming into contact with the ionization units. It is not possible for the rinsing unit itself to be cleaned with liquids either on the outside or on the inside in this way.
A container conveying system is known from U.S. Pat. No. 6,209,705 B1. In this case the container conveying system has a first station, which introduces ionized gas into the containers, and a second station, which removes dirt from the containers. In this case the ionized air is produced only in the nozzles themselves.
EP 0 895 816 A1 describes an apparatus for the treatment or cleaning of tubular bodies. In this case a central air ionizing unit is provided which supplies ionized air by way of a line to a plurality of nozzles. More precisely, plastics material pre-forms are treated by this apparatus.
An apparatus for cleaning bottles is known from DE 102 58 208 A1. In this case too, air is converted from an ionized state into air in a neutral state and air neutralized by ionization is blown into the bottles.
A method and an apparatus for blowing out pre-forms of plastics material are likewise known from DE 101 40 906 A1. In this case the crude pre-forms with an open and a closed end are blown out by means of ionized air, in which case the ionized air in the vicinity of the closed end is conveyed into the interior of the pre-forms in order to achieve an advantageous rinsing effect in this way.
In the case of ionization units of this type known from the prior art, the oncoming air flows through the ionization nozzle and the latter has at its centre a metallic needle running to a point and an outer ring which is placed on the earthing of the machine. The air is now ionized on account of the high voltage which can be for example between 3 and 4 kV and which is produced in this case by a transformer. In this way, the conductivity of the air is increased. PET bottles are charged electrostatically on the basis of their method of production, i.e. a blow moulding procedure of the PET bottles and also of the conveying, such as for example an air conveyor. This charging drains away on account of the conductivity which is produced by the ionization of the air.